More Articles

LONDON — A helicopter crashed into a crane and fell onto a crowded street in central London
during morning rush hour yesterday, sending flames and black plumes of smoke into the air. The
pilot and one person on the ground were killed, and 14 others were injured, officials said.

The helicopter crashed in misty weather just south of the River Thames near the Underground and
mainline train station at Vauxhall. That’s close to the headquarters of spy agency MI6.

Police said one person suffered critical injuries. Six were taken to a hospital with minor
injuries; seven were treated at the scene, ambulance officials said.

The pilot, who was killed, had requested to divert and land at the nearby London Heliport
because of bad weather, the heliport said.

Witnesses said the disaster unfolded when the helicopter hit a crane atop a 50-story residential
building, the St. George Wharf Tower. The aircraft, an Agusta-Westland 109, was on a commercial
flight, said Philip Amadeus, managing director of RotorMotion, an executive helicopter-charter
business.

The company identified the pilot as Peter Barnes, 50, whose career included flying in films such
as
Saving Private Ryan and the James Bond movie
Die Another Day.

“He was a very highly skilled pilot, one of the most experienced in the U.K., with over 12,000
flying hours,” Amadeus said.

Police identified the other fatality as 39-year-old Matthew Wood, from southern London.

The crash unfolded at the height of the morning commute when thousands of pedestrians in the
area were trying to get to work.